Last year my eldest son went off to college, one of those moments in a parent’s life when you know that you have done all that you can, and you must leave the rest up to your child. One thing which I had never realized was just how tricky the process of selecting the right college would be, and we deliberated for many months on which college would be the best fit for my son. Thankfully during that time we were able on count on the support of family friend Kevin Rolle Alabama University chairman, and an educational mastermind. What helped us most during this time was the suggestion that we should make a list of important aspects of college, and then use that to select which was the best university.
In light of this, I thought that I would share with you what we spent our time thinking about, so that you too will know what considerations you need to make when your child goes to university.
Distance From Home
Each student is different in terms of how far away from home they want to study and understanding this can help whittle down your choice of colleges. For example many of my son’s friends were looking at colleges which would be close to home, so that they could return when they liked. My son however, was dedicated to enjoying the independence of college, and much preferred moving far away from home, much to my dismay. Once you have distance in your mind, you can start narrowing your search for colleges.
Education
Naturally the reason for going to college is to get an education but within this there are some important things to consider. The first thing to think about is what kind of course your child wants to study, as many colleges will specialize in a particular topic, as well as having strong links to the relevant industry. You also need to be realistic in your choice of university, for example I would love my child to go to an Ivy League university, but he just isn’t wired that way and he has strengths in other areas, being realistic is half the battle when selecting a college.
College Life
It is crucial to remember that college is not just about you child going off and getting an education, whilst this is the primary reason, it is also about an education in life. College life teaches your child so much about themselves, and about how to be independent. With this in mind, it is very important that you research what college life is like in the universities which you are considering. You should be looking at what kind of accommodation there is, what kind extra curricular experiences there are, as well as looking into what kind of student body they will find at their chosen university. Remember that college life is not only about education.
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